midair in Bay Area Nov 7

Moshe Braner wrote on 11/17/2020 8:12 PM:
On 11/17/2020 12:01 PM, Ramy wrote:
On Tuesday, November 17, 2020 at 8:06:00 AM UTC-8, Dan Marotta wrote:
On 11/16/20 6:10 PM, Ramy wrote:
One of the flarms was inop due to expired firmware.
I wonder how many personal injury attorneys saw that statement...

--
Dan
5J
Flarm is voluntary installation after all.
The pilot with* the operating flarm was not injured.
The point here is not to put blame.
Every year I hear of multiple expired firmwares, including that very same day he wasn’t the
only one.
There is an awareness and confusion issue which we need to address.
I am planning to always have the latest firmware on a USB stick with me (without my config
file!) and periodically ask my buddies at the airport if they upgraded the firmware this
year, if not, will upgrade it for them on the spot.

Ramy


You're saying "The pilot with the operating flarm was not injured" - as if it's the out of date
firmware that caused the other pilot to be injured after bailing out?

The device was disabled by the manufacturer leading to one injury and two lost gliders.* Not
causing, but contributing to the likelihood of that collision.* For no good reason.

How long should a unit be allowed to go beyond a year without updating? one month? One year? 10
years? You are suggesting that units with newer versions must recognize the version of other
Flarms and compensate for their reduced functionality, giving us a system that is not operating
as well as it could - which reduces our safety.

Eventually, older versions must be updated. You accept this when you install it, and it can
easily be part of your annual inspection. If you have a Flarm compatible display, it will
announce the need for the update; if you choose a non-compatible display, it is your
responsibility to remember when to update. This is no different than expecting pilots to update
their charts and check for NOTAMS.

Perhaps every Flarm unit should have a loud, annoying buzzer that activates at the end of the
first flight with outdated firmware :^) In the meantime, Ramy's "Johnny Appleseed" approach
and reminders at contests and camps are worthwhile efforts.


--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"
https://sites.google.com/site/motorg...ad-the-guide-1